Moments In Time
by PrisonerPadfoot
Summary: A collection of various moments with our favorite Inuyasha characters. A series of unconnected drabbles, all occurring before Naraku's defeat. NEWEST: Rin gets help from a friend.
1. A Lesson

**All the stories in this collection will be inspired by the 100 fairytales prompts on LJ. This particular one was inspired by #013- The Magician and His Pupil**

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Sesshoumaru watched with rapt attention as his father danced around wielding Tetsusaiga, demonstrating various sword fighting techniques to his son. His footwork would often lead him very close to the edge of the cliff, but he never faltered so much as single step. He jumped and slashed, parried and jabbed, and Sesshoumaru hadn't realized that his mouth was gaping with awe.

"Are you paying attention, Sesshoumaru?" the Inu no Taisho asked with a smile as he launched himself into the air, sword held over his head.

Sesshoumaru nodded and followed his father's jump with wide eyes. His father landed and made a wide slash with his blade, and Sesshoumaru imagined that any enemy standing there would have been cut clean in two. There was nothing short of magical about the way the Inu no Taisho handled his weapon.

_I want to do that, _the demon child thought, his eyes never leaving his father. _This Sesshoumaru will be just as skilled a swordsman as his father. No. A better swordsman. _This brought a small smirk to his face, which was not lost on his father.

The Inu no Taisho jumped high into the air again, and Sesshoumaru lost him in the blinding glare of the sun. He whipped around as he heard his father land softly on the grass behind him. Tetsusaiga was slung over one shoulder, his free hand resting on his hip. He smiled at his son, then reached out and tousled his hair. He sheathed Tetsusaiga and instead drew a blunt training sword.

"Ready to see what you can do?" he asked Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru nodded furiously and drew his training sword, more than ready for his first lesson with his father.

_One day I will no longer be the pupil, _Sesshoumaru thought as he crossed swords with his father, _I will be the master, and no one will be able to challenge me. _


	2. A Child's Prey

**All the stories in this collection will be inspired by the 100 fairytales prompts on LJ. This particular one was inspired by #027- The Hunter**

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The hunter looked upon his prey with narrowed eyes. His glowing green stare was intense, as was his posture. He was crouched low behind a leafy bush, his hind legs coiled and ready to spring him upwards and upon his unsuspecting prey. His claws scratched anxiously at the earth, digging four deep runnels into the soft dirt.

His prey moved ever so slightly, flexing its legs and wings. The hunter's tongue slipped out and over his upper lip in concentration. With a growl, he sprung upon the lowly creature, his hind paws landing gracefully while his hands clasped together to imprison his target. His heart beat anxiously with the thrill of the catch, his eyes going wide with his triumph. Carefully, he parted his hands ever so slightly to peek at the creature he had snared. At first he could see nothing but shadow, so he pulled his hands apart a bit more, and then a bit more until he realized that all he had caught was a handful of air.

He looked up and saw the creature he had been stalking sitting a few branches higher in the bush, obviously smug that it had escaped the clutches of the hunter. He jumped and swatted a grabbing hand at the creature, but it fluttered away into the sky along with all of the hunter's hopes of capturing it.

Shippo sat with his legs outstretched and watched as the yellow butterfly grew smaller and smaller as it went off into the distance. He hadn't wanted to hurt the tiny creature, just to get hold of it for a few moments. It had been a very pretty shade of yellow, similar to the overstuffed backpack Kagome always brought with her through the well. He had just wanted to show it to her. She would have seen how pretty it was and smiled at him, proud that he had caught it just for her. Shippo crossed his arms and pouted, mumbling to himself.

"Shippo? Where are you?" he heard Kagome's voice, and he turned around to find her peeking around a tree at him. "There you are! Come on, we've got to get moving."

Shippo couldn't help but smile. He bounded over to Kagome and perched himself atop her head.

"Kagome! You should have seen it. It was this butterfly that was the same color as your backpack!" he said, making grand gestures with his little hands. His face then fell a little. "I _tried _to catch it for you."

"I'm sure it was beautiful, Shippo. Thank you." Kagome said, and Shippo's smile had never been wider.


	3. A Good Morning

**All the stories in this collection will be inspired by the 100 fairytales prompts on LJ. This particular one was inspired by #004- The First to See the Sunrise**

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The rising sun had just appeared on the horizon, setting the trees and snow-capped mountain peaks ablaze in its warm orange glow. He had not had the chance to enjoy the sunrise like this in many months, and though he had seen it countless times before in his long life, it never ceased to hold him captive.

His dragon, his ward, and his vassal were still fast asleep in the grassy clearing they had spent the night in. Usually at this hour Rin would be wide awake with Jaken pestering her about some trivial thing, and in turn Jaken's grumbling would annoy his Lord. It was calm mornings such as this that Sesshoumaru enjoyed the most, but when he heard the disturbance in the brush behind him, he knew that it would not last much longer. The bushes rustled as a small creature battered her way through them. She burst out from the leaves and stood beside him, oblivious to the eyebrow he raised at her. She only saw the sunrise. Her mouth went wide in a toothy smile at the sight of it, while her hands clasped together in front of her.

"Isn't it _beautiful_, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin cooed, and she took a few tentative steps towards the edge of the cliff. "Rin has never watched the sun rise like this before!"

"Careful, Rin." he said, and the girl stepped back to his side again.

The picturesque landscape seemed the hold her tongue captive, and she said not a word as she stood with him. The lovely silence between them continued until the bushes began to rustle again.

"Rin, you mischievous girl, where have you gotten to?" came the annoyingly high-pitched and crackly voice of Jaken. He burst out of the bushes and waved the Staff of Two Heads at Rin, who didn't look the least bit intimidated. "What are you doing bothering Lord Sesshoumaru? He obviously wants to be alone, away from your continuous babbling no doubt, you anno--"

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru said harshly, cutting off his lecture to Rin.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken cried, throwing himself into the dirt and bowing at his Lord's feet.

Sesshoumaru's boot found its way to Jaken's head, and the little green youkai was soon sailing back over the bushes through which he came. Once he heard the crash and yell accompanying Jaken's landing back at camp, Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to the sun. Rin's small giggle rang pleasantly in his ears, and he peered down to find that she was watching the sun again as well. Together they watched as it crested over the mountains, a blazing red sphere rising to its rightful place in the heavens

It was mornings like this that Sesshoumaru truly liked best.


	4. Kagome's Test

**All the stories in this collection will be inspired by the 100 fairytales prompts on LJ. This particular one was inspired by #094- Good Luck  
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He was holding the bag high over his head, and when she made to grab it he swung it around and out of her reach. The only things left in the bag now were heavy textbooks and school notes that had consumed most of her attention lately. Over her last week in the Senjoku Jedai she had spent more time worrying about studying for her exams than getting killed by Naraku, and Inuyasha made his annoyance very well known. Now she had to leave to be in time for her exams in the morning, and Inuyasha was not too keen on letting her go.

"Are these exam things really so important?" he asked, lifting the bag higher and out of Kagome's reach again.

"Only if I want to get into a good high school!" she raged.

"Keh," Inuyasha grumbled, "School, big deal."

Kagome's face turned an ugly shade of red, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. Inuyasha's ears fell back against his skull, and his eyes widened against Kagome's piercing glare. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"Inuyasha…." she said almost musically, a vein visibly throbbing at her temple, "SIT!"

Inuyasha felt his body tense, his limbs going stiff before his neck was pulled downward by the beaded rosary he wore. His body slammed into the ground, creating a hanyou-shaped depression in the soft earth. He could feel as the backpack was plucked from his immobile claws, and he regained control of his body just in time to see Kagome disappearing into the well with it.

Inuyasha jumped to his feet and perched himself on the lip of well. He peered down into it and found only darkness. Kagome was probably on the other side already, running up to her room to do more studying or something. Inuyasha sighed, his ears drooping.

"Good luck, Kagome," he said softly before jumping down and heading back towards the village to find the rest of his friends.


	5. Dragon's Best Friend

**All the stories in this collection will be inspired by the 100 fairytales prompts on LJ. This particular one was inspired b****y #060-**** Staying With A Friend In Rainy Weather**

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Rin had always loved the rain. She liked to run through it, feeling as the wet grass squished beneath her bare feet. She would try to catch the small droplets on her tongue, and was fascinated by the small frogs and lizards that came out from their hiding places to sit out on rocks and enjoy the wet weather.

But this was simply too much for her. The rain had been pouring down in bucketfuls for many hours now, and Rin was soaked to the bone. The downpour was so heavy she could barely see a few feet in front of her, and all other sounds were drowned out by the constant patter of water hitting earth.

At first Rin tried to take refuge beneath a large tree, but the rain battered heavily upon the leaves and Rin was no drier than she would have been if she sat out in the open. She tried tree after tree, but none of them seemed to provide adequate cover. Her search for a dry hiding space earned an annoyed sigh from Jaken. He was small enough to fit himself in the knothole of one of trees Rin had tried and abandoned, and was sitting cozy and dry while the girl searched on for proper cover. Ah-Un didn't seem to mind the rain in the slightest, and was sitting contentedly beside Jaken's tree with no cover at all. The rain simply bounced off his scales, and the soggy earth he was sitting on gave him no trouble.

"Rin, you foolish girl," Jaken called, "The more you run around, the wetter you'll be. Just settle down somewhere."

With a sigh, Rin sat herself down beneath the nearest tree. The ground was muddy, but the leaves blocked out most of the rain. Most of the drops that made it through the tree's guard fell to the ground around her. However, there was a continuous flow of raindrops that kept falling right upon her head. The downpour began to slow, but the dripping continued until Rin contemplated moving to another spot. She was just about to rise when she realized they had ceased.

She looked up to see Ah-Un's twin heads looming above her. The dragon had positioned himself so that the drops of water ran down his neck, over his shoulder and to the ground instead of on Rin's head.

"Thank you, Ah-Un!" Rin cried, throwing her arms around Ah's neck. "You're a good friend to Rin!"

The dragon purred his approval.


End file.
